Seven Days
by AnneStan86
Summary: There are not a lot of things Justin Russo has kept secret over the years. But the one week that almost changed his life forever is something he kept hidden until now.
1. Prologue

_**Seven Days**_

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own any part of Wizards of Waverly Place or _Seven Days_ by Kenny Chesney in which I've derived parts of this story.

_Author's Note:_ Hoping a total of seven chapters will get this done, maybe more but hopefully not less. I recommend listening to the song in its entirety as the story will definitely not follow it to the letter.

**- J-H –**

_**Prologue**_

At ninety-six, I am both middle aged and a man who is considered ancient. By wizard standards, ninety-six years old is considered being at the prime of life while by mortal standards, I should be looking forward to a long dirt nap. My memory is still as keen as it ever was and when I look in the mirror, I don't see the white hair and frail body looking back at me. I see the man I was in my youth.

I've accomplished many things in my almost century-long lifespan, both as a wizard and as just another man walking on this earth. Some that is common knowledge…lifting the ban on mortal/non-mortal marriage…establishing the first school for wizards in the mortal realm…publishing numerous articles and books. Some are more hidden away from the public eye like raising my three beautiful children to be successful contributors to society. Despite the fact that their mother passed away when the last one was just out of diapers.

Most of my life is an open book. Women enjoy a good fairy tale so they read about how my wife and I met and fell in love. Men would bend over backwards for an adventure that keeps them on the edge of their seats so battling monsters and other dark objects is enjoyable fodder. My life as an educator is examined by many schools and is used as a platform to teach coursework to their own students. And the laws that I've changed is the basis for many political campaigns to improve the lives of wizard-kind and magical being everywhere.

But there is a story that I have never shared. The week immediately following my triumph at the wizard competition when my mentor's power was passed on to me. It is a week that I spent away from all the pressures of life and spent it with a girl that I never officially saw again. A girl with a mane of auburn hair and eyes the color of rich moss that still haunt my dreams to this day.

Whether it's because I've gone senile or because most of the people who knew me way back when—including the girl—have gone, I finally feel ready to share the story of that one week. Maybe it's because my children have hired a man to write the ultimate autobiography of my life and I can't exclude what was probably the best week of my life. Or maybe it's just that I don't give a damn what anyone—mortal or magical—thinks of me anymore.

Or maybe, just maybe, it's because after eight decades, I've finally realized that I owe it to her to bring her out of the shadows of my subconscious. She never belonged there and I've been a damned fool for far too long for putting her there, for allowing all of us to put her there after all she had done and all she had been to us.

So, with a heavy heart, I begin.

_Once upon a time, when fairy tales were no more than mere stories, there was a subway station that was never a subway station at all. Inside lived the all-American family who were never as normal as everybody believed…_

_**To be continued...**_


	2. Chapter One

_**Chapter One**_

_A Saturday downpour carved out rivers in the sand  
She said it was her first time to see the sea  
Helping her climb across those jetty rocks  
Was the first time I touched her hand_

He was a fully-fledged wizard now. He should have been more than thrilled to be what he had strived for most of his life but the accomplishment was…_bittersweet_, to say the least. After all, the goal had been to be the _family wizard_. Instead, he was just a replacement for a man who had chosen to retire and he would always be indebted to someone else for the power he had gained. And he would never feel like he completely deserved to be a wizard.

That was the kicker, really, if he thought about it, which was something he tried his best not to do. His parents, his siblings, hell, his two closest friends and his own girlfriend were congratulating him on something that he had not earned. Only one sibling deserved the congratulatory pats on the backs because she had actually followed the guidelines to a tee and _won._

Did none of them see that? Did none of them see that he should be standing with Max and his parents as a mere mortal? Did none of them see that he was less than deserving of his place at his sister's side? He saw it, why couldn't they?

Returning to the loft that evening, the voices chattering around him as they planned the next steps of their lives, Justin Russo could not help but feel suffocated by it all. The changes that were taking hold were just happening too fast and he needed to find a way to figure it all out. He needed to adjust, to contemplate his own future now that he was in charge of the legend that had taken the professor years to build.

He just needed to room to _breathe_.

His family gathered around the table, the excitement palpable as their voices grew in volume, and he used the distraction to back away from it all. To escape the confines of the interior of the loft and make his way to the cool night air that the balcony provided. Resting his arms on the railing, he gulped down in the crisp air like it was water and temporarily allowed himself to forget the occurrences of the day as he stared at the flickering lights of the city.

However, in his haste to get away, he had neglected to notice if anybody had been following him. "You ran out of there pretty fast. Are you okay?"

Justin jumped slightly and turned to see Harper standing just outside of the open window, the light from the apartment giving her a sort of ethereal glow that she lacked at any other time. Though she was still slightly shaky from her encounter with the Griffin, the shower she had taken upon their arrival home and the fresh change of clothing had eradicated the paleness that had had them all silently worried.

And with her damp hair hanging around her face and only the shine of glossed lips remaining of her cosmetics, he was momentarily stunned to see the resemblance to the girl who had once loved him. The girl that had slowly disappeared somewhere along the way as knowledge and experience were slowly gained.

He smiled softly, hoping to abate the worry that had come into her emerald eyes. "It was a bit warm in there. I'm fine, Harper, really. You should go back and join the party."

"Okay, but don't you want to come inside too? It is your party, after all. I know Juliet was looking for you right before you made your big escape and so was Zeke. And I'm sure your dad wants to share another one of his _when I first became a young wizard_ stories," Harper pointed out, mimicking Jerry Russo almost to perfection.

"Tell them I'll be right back in a few minutes. I just want to clear my head."

Harper nodded, accepting his answer, and turned to the window to enter the apartment. However, she paused halfway through her climb and pulled her leg back out so she could face him once again. She wrung her hands together and gnawed on her bottom lip, two outward signs that her nerves were fraying as she tried to find the right words to say.

"Harper?"

"It's got to be a lot to adjust to. I mean, I know you've been preparing all your life for this but it still must be a sort of culture shock. Especially since you're not the only one to become the family wizard like you trained to be," she said finally. "And not only are you the family wizard but now you're in charge of an entire school of wizards-to-be. I don't blame you for wanting to pretend it's not happening for a minute or two."

He supposed he shouldn't be too surprised that _she_ of all people had the ability to sum up exactly what he was feeling in so few words. He supposed he should be less surprised that she also had a bountiful of empathy for his situation and didn't make him feel like a spoiled brat for not immediately embracing his heart's desire. For even finding his heart's desire a bit lacking.

"I guess I thought when this day came I would be more overjoyed and that I…I would be as enthusiastic about it as Alex is right now." He shrugged. "And I want to be because I've worked _so damn hard_ for this. But—"

"But you still feel like you don't deserve it."

And there it was. That mysterious feeling that had been overwhelming him since the competition had ended and Professor Crumbs had announced that Justin Russo, son of Theresa and Jerry Russo, would be his successor.

"Do you want to get out of here?" he asked suddenly.

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as her eyes studied the earnest expression on his face with an intensity that he had not seen in quite a while. "Where would we go?" she inquired, tilting her head to the side and furrowing her brow as she continued to study him.

"Anywhere you want. I am a fully-fledged wizard now, you know, so it's not like travel would be an issue."

Harper chuckled, a breathy, throaty sound that was far removed from the high-pitched giggle of girlhood. "Was it ever?" She glanced over her shoulder to the interior of the apartment, their family and friends still immersed in the music and food and lively conversation as plans were thrown back and forth. There was longing in her eyes to join them but he knew what her decision would be before she even spoke. "Okay, I'm in. Let's go."

"You haven't told me where you wanted to go."

"You know what, Justin? I think for the first time in my life, I want to be surprised."

**- J-H -**

Dawn was just breaking over the horizon but the thick gray clouds in the sky hardly made the beginning of the day discernible from the end of the previous night. Untouched greenery mixed with jagged rocks that extended to the shoreline painted the scenery of their destination, the almost eerie quiet of the early morning a far cry from the chaotic amusement park atmosphere that filled the beaches back home. This was the peace he had been craving since the competition ended and his world had been tilted a hundred and eighty degrees on its axis.

"Where are we?" she spoke in a reverential whisper.

Justin looked down at his companion. Her eyes glittered with the exhilaration that only a new adventure could bring and gusts of wind caused the tendrils of her auburn hair to dance around her face. He was taken aback by the simplicity of the picture she displayed that emanated pure innocence, creating a beauty that he knew could never again be duplicated by her or any other women.

He almost hated to ruin it. "Somewhere on one of the Scottish islands, though I'm not sure which one," he replied, taking another glance at their surroundings.

He watched as she picked her way over the rocks that made up the ground, stopping when there was a good amount of distance between them and turning to face the churning water just meters from them. "I've never seen the sea before."

"What are you talking about? We go to Coney Island almost every summer."

Harper shrugged. "I know but it's…different here. There are no rides or people milling around or vendors trying to sell you their best goods. It's just…the sea in all its perfect unobstructed glory."

"I know what you mean." And he did, because he felt the magnificence that permeated the air around them as well. "You know, I'm not even sure I landed us on one of the inhabited islands or even if it's one that's bigger than a square mile or two."

Her chest visibly lifted and it was obvious that she had inhaled sharply. "So we could be all alone and no one would ever know that we had been here."

Justin had expected the characteristic enthusiasm at the notion since she had portrayed that excitable nature so often for so long. What he had not expected was the distant expression that had come onto her face or the fact that her voice sounded like it was on the other side of a tunnel. The idea that spending time alone with him would be the last thing she desired actually brought him physical pain as his stomach clenched.

"We can go back home if you want. This was my idea and I don't want you to feel like you're obligated to stay."

"I—" Whatever words she was about to say were cut off by a shriek as the clouds broke and let a torrential downpour fall, soaking their clothing to the skin in a matter of minutes. She lifted her face to the sky; eyes closed and a giggle bursting forth from her chest. It was another reminder that the girl he had grown up with was still locked inside the woman who was still, in some ways, a stranger. "I haven't been in a rain storm since I was eight."

"We need to find some sort of shelter before both of us get sick," Justin said, not quite finding the same enjoyment in being chilled to the bone as she obviously had. She made no move to take his outstretched hand or move at all for that matter. "Harper, we need to get somewhere dry before we catch pneumonia."

She turned to look at him, her emerald eyes shining with barely contained joy. "You sure know how to ruin a good time. I mean, how many times in your lifetime are you going to experience a Scottish rainstorm firsthand?"

"Wizard, Harper, remember I'm a wizard? It kind of makes the limitation on travel practically non-existent."

"You really think that, don't you?" she murmured. Sighing, she glanced one last time at the sky before taking his hand. "All right, let's find this shelter you're so determined to get to."

Her hand clasped inside his was warm despite the chill in the air and as he helped her over the rocks that separated sea from land, he tried to remember when the last time it was that he had touched her in the same manner. However, sifting through the memories, he realized that he had never held her hand before. Sure, he had gripped her upper arms to push her away from him and he had even wrapped his own around her shoulders once for comfort. There was even the one time that she had fallen asleep against his shoulder during a late night silent movie marathon.

But he had never had such intimate contact with the young woman that basic hand holding entailed, of that he was certain. He had to admit that he rather enjoyed the warmth that emanated from skin that was softer than he thought possible. If she was surprised that he intertwined their fingers, she didn't show it and he supposed that she merely thought he had done it to better his grip.

She stumbled over some of the rocks, causing him to slip as well, and he tightened his hold on her hand to keep both of them from falling until they could reach ground more solid than what they were treading on. The rocks that varied between boulders and fist-sized stones lessened to pebbles easily hidden underneath blades of grass and weeds as they continued on their path. And soon, there was only grass beneath their feet.

Once they were on solid ground, Justin reluctantly let go of her hand as there was no reason to keep a hold on it. He wiped the water from his face and scanned the area for a place to allow them sanctuary from the storm. The rain continuously beating down made it an impossible mission though and he was beginning to regret landing the two of them on the nameless island in the first place. At least if they had kept their journey in the confines of the New York state lines, he would know how to proceed even if they were undoubtedly lost.

And just as quickly as the rain had begun to fall, it dissipated with the same lightning-fast speed.

"Justin, over there," Harper called out.

She pointed to a ramshackle house—or was the term cottage? Shack?—that appeared as though it had been vacant as long as either of them had been alive. It stood nearly half a mile from their current position and although it wasn't ideal accoutrements for either of them, it was dry and would provide suitable shelter if the clouds burst open with another bout of rain.

He seized her hand once again, ignoring the momentary flutter in his chest as he began to pull her towards the building. "Come on. We should get there before the rain starts again."

Slipping and sliding over the wet grass, they half walked and half jogged to the building. Once inside, Justin used his magic to start a fire in the stone fireplace that had not been in use for many years while Harper toured the room. Dust covered everything at least an inch thick and a multitude of pests that were both living and dead littering the floor. She cringed upon finding the mouse droppings in the corner and let out a short scream when she stumbled upon the spiders hanging from the rafters.

Using another burst of magic, Justin did his best to clear out what he knew the girl was most afraid of. Well, after zombies, ghosts, vampires and a really creepy leprechaun that even he had an issue with. When he was done, he faced her with a forced grin on his face. "It's not perfect but it's something. We can stay just until we get dry and then I'll zap us home."

She laughed. "Justin, you keep acting like you abducted me and are holding me hostage. But what you don't seem to get is that I wanted to come. Heck, I even offered."

"But I doubt this is the type of place you imagined coming."

Harper shrugged. "I don't know. It might not be the cleanest place to rest or _exactly_ what I had in mind. But this is an adventure, right?"

"Right," he reluctantly agreed.

"And you are a fully-fledged wizard now, right?" she said, echoing his words spoken on the balcony in Waverly Place. He nodded. "So, it stands to reason that we don't have to stay here but we don't have to go home either. We can see anything, _do_ anything. I'm not ready to go home yet, Justin, and I really doubt you are too."

He could say whatever he wanted about her but one thing over anything else was true. Harper Finkle still knew more about him than anybody else.

_**To be continued…**_


End file.
